Ruth Kettlewell

Ruth Kettlewell (born Ruth Anne Berry, 13 April 1913 – 17 July 2007) was an English actress.[1][2] She was, by her own admission, a "character bag"; that is, a recognisable face to regular television viewers, but not a household name.[3]

Ruth Kettlewell
Born
Ruth Anne Berry

13 April 1913
Worcester, Worcestershire, England
Died17 July 2007 (aged 94)
London, England
OccupationActress
Spouse(s)The Rev Robert Kettlewell

Early life

Kettlewell was born as the second daughter of a clergyman, and was educated at Casterton School. From there she went on to art college, herself marrying a curate at the age of 18, and often playing small parts in amateur dramatic productions. Her husband died from scarlet fever caught while serving as a wartime army padre. She herself served in the Women's Land Army from 1942 to 1946.

Career

Early career

Kettlewell began her career in repertory theatre[4] and by the late 1950s had managed to secure small West End roles. In 1959 she had her first film role in Room at the Top. She also acted in Norwegian for a Scandinavian children's film.

TV and Radio breakthroughs

In the 1960s Kettlewell's television career unfolded and she worked alongside the likes of Harry Worth, Joan Sims and Deryck Guyler. She is perhaps best known for her role in the early episodes of All Gas and Gaiters [5] where she played Mrs Grace Pugh-Critchley the Dean's wife. In 1966, she had a small role in the seminal Cathy Come Home.

A specialist in landladies and mothers-in-law, she was equally at home with both adult or children's material. In the early 1970s she played alongside Scottish comedy double-act Mike Hope and Albie Keen in BBC TV's "Hope and Keens Crazy House" later reprised as "Hope and Keen's Crazy Bus".[6] Like many actors she continued to work well into her eighties.[7]

In her obituary, The Independent noted "By her own admission ...Ruth Kettlewell often played battleaxes, but it kept her in regular work...for half a century, sometimes only in fleeting roles. A lifelong Christian, she even felt sympathy for those on the receiving end of her characters' stern actions."[8]

Later life

A devout Anglo-Catholic and active member of the Actors’ Church Union,[9] she directed many amateur productions with a devotional theme for her church, St Augustine of Canterbury, Highgate,[10] where she also served as churchwarden and sacristan.

She died on 17 July 2007 in London.

Filmography

Film

Television
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References
  1. Peer tributes
  2. Ruth Kettlewell on IMDb
  3. Times Obituary
  4. Memories of time in rep
  5. All Gas and Gaiters critique
  6. Hope and Keen's Crazy House/Bus at TV Cream
  7. Most recent role
  8. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/ruth-kettlewell-462782.html
  9. She visited the shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham on numerous occasions: Times Obituary (Ibid).
  10. Parish web-site
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